Would You Like My Bikini On Or Off?

From the initial outrage at the sight of bare nipples and breasticles being tanned by the Mediterranean sun the bare mammary first reached acceptance and is now, well, out of fashion.

In this case it’s not so much that history is cyclical but that a lot has happened since topless became a headline grabber in the 1960s. Like the mini-skirt being replaced by the flower-patterned tents of material that cropped up in the 1970s the topless bather seems to be more a stunt by movie stars for carefully chosen long-lens photographs than a desire to get the puppies out in public.

Strange how something that was once a sign of emancipation and freedom becomes the exact opposite as women feel obliged to go topless rather than having the choice to do so.